Quick answer
Current live-game guidanceWhat to do first
Before changing or restoring saves, preserve a separate copy of the current save files and backups. World and character saves are different: restoring a world does not automatically restore your inventory. Use Manage Saves to inspect dated backups, select the correct world or character, and restore only after you have protected the current state.
Make a separate copy first
| Windows Steam storage | Where to look |
|---|---|
| Local saves | %USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/IronGate/Valheim — inspect worlds_local and characters_local. |
| Steam Cloud files | Your Steam folder → userdata → your numeric Steam ID → 892970 → remote. Copy for backup; do not casually edit this synchronized folder. |
| Dedicated server | Check the launch script's -savedir override and the host's actual data directory; it may not be your desktop user's folder. |
- 1
Exit the world normally and let saving and Steam synchronization finish. For a dedicated server, ask the administrator to stop it cleanly before copying the active save data.
- 2
Identify whether the save is Local or Cloud in the game's save manager. Do not assume an empty local folder means the world has been deleted.
- 3
Copy the appropriate save folder and its existing backups to a separate dated location. Copy rather than move; leave the originals intact.
- 4
Check that the copy contains both the world data and the character data you intend to preserve. Record the game branch and version alongside the copy.
Choose the correct thing to restore
| What you need back | Inspect | What a different restore will not fix |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings, terrain or world progress | Backups under Worlds | A character backup does not rebuild the base. |
| Inventory, skills or character progress | Backups under Characters | A world backup does not roll back the character automatically. |
| A whole shared session | World backup plus each affected character's state | Restoring only one side can leave items or progress out of sync. |
Use a dated backup deliberately
- 1
Open Manage Saves from character or world selection. Select the relevant Characters or Worlds tab and expand the correct save entry.
- 2
Compare backup timestamps with when the problem occurred. Pick a known earlier state, not just the largest file or the newest name.
- 3
After preserving the current state, select the backup and use Restore Backup. Read the confirmation before accepting the rollback.
- 4
Load and inspect the restored result. Check the base, inventory or other specific thing you meant to recover before continuing normal play.
If a backup is absent or the result is wrong, keep the preserved copies and stop guessing at deletions or renames. Check the official support route. A missing visible entry can be a storage-location or branch mismatch, not proof that every copy is gone.
Do not mix live and Public Test instructions
The May 2026 Public Test announcement describes worlds changing from a .db/.fwl pair to folders containing chunks, with separate backup folders. Character saves are unchanged by that particular test update. This is not permission to use a two-file restore recipe on every version.
Iron Gate advises against manually moving files when switching between the Public Test and live branches. Preserve a pre-test backup and follow the branch-specific official instructions. For hosted servers, coordinate the backup format, branch and restore operation with the administrator.
Version & sources
Sources & what may change
- Applies to
- Live 0.221.12 through Ashlands; check world settings and mods.
- Last verified
- September 4, 2026
- When to check again
- Recheck after the September 9 release, a relevant patch, or a change to the linked documentation. This page is not yet verified for 1.0.